


Her Niece and His Goddaughter

by Eye_Greater_Than_Three



Series: The Halloween Collection [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Gen, Mentions of Evil!Vernon, Mentions of miscarriage, female!Harry, mentions of abuse, nice!Petunia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-02
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-24 11:43:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4918219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eye_Greater_Than_Three/pseuds/Eye_Greater_Than_Three
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While wanting to get to know his goddaughter, Sirius decided to visit Helen at Privet Drive and he found her with a new pet – a hellhound – that she claimed was her new dog.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Her Niece and His Goddaughter

Sirius Black couldn't decide whether to laugh or stare with his mouth open. He couldn't believe it! But at the same time, he should learn not to expect anything else. His goddaughter was the master of impossible. Hell, her name might as well be synonyms with impossible.

As far as the Ministry was considered, hellhounds ranked next to dragons on the  _ danger _ level. Sirius was welling to bet Hagrid had a similar opinion of hellhounds as dragons: a hellhound would make a great pet.

Here was sweet, muggle-raised Helen Evans-Potter with a six month old hellhound on a leach, like a common dog. The hellhound, Orion, adored his owner. He listened and followed her every command. He growled when someone unknown approached Helen.

Orion had taken one look at Padfoot and growled, his lips curled to show his fangs. He moved to stand protectively in front of his owner. As a magical dog, Orion could sense  _ something _ was off about Padfoot. Not wanting to risk anything, Padfoot sat down and whined.

Helen smiled at the sight of Padfoot. She reached out and petted his head, causing Orion to growl more.

“Orion,” Helen scolded in a gentle voice, “down. Padfoot's safe.”

Padfoot stood up and wagged his tail. He wanted to bark, but decided against it. There was no need to draw extra attention to Helen. They were at a park near Privet Drive with other muggles around. Several were watching Helen closely.

“Let's go home, boys,” she said, walking up the street.

Padfoot quickly followed. He walked on the left side of Helen since Orion was on the right. It was a decent walk, about two kilometers. When they arrived to Number Four, Padfoot was tired while Helen barely broke a sweat.

Padfoot followed Helen and her dog into her aunt's house. Helen took off her sneakers and cleaned both Orion's and Padfoot's paws. Orion remained by Helen's side, his blue eyes fixed on Padfoot.

“You can change back,” Helen said, walking into the living room.

A few seconds later, Sirius Black stood in place of Padfoot.

At the sight of the man, Orion started to growl. He moved to stand in front of Helen, like he had earlier at the park. Helen, simply, patted her hellhound on the head, stretching his right ear. Orion stopped growled and sat down in front of Helen.

Sirius stared at the scene in front of him. His fourteen year old goddaughter looked like any other teenager with a new dog. He wondered if Helen knew her new dog was a hellhound?

“Where did you get the dog?” he asked.

“I found _Orion_ a month ago,” Helen answered, taking a seat on the brown couch. “Aunt Petunia and I were getting our nails done, and he ran into the salon, straight at me.” Helen shrugged. “Aunt Petunia said I could keep him, but he's my responsibility.”

Sirius said nothing. He moved over and took a seat in the armchair near Helen.

Orion's blue eyes tracked Sirius' movements, but the hellhound didn't growl. He remained by his owner's side.

“Do you know what kind of dog he is?” Sirius asked, looking over the hellhound. There were different kinds of hellhounds. This one had tan fur with a black nose, floppy ears, and blue eyes. The distinguished traits among hellhounds were the eyes and the ears. They were also very intelligent.

“His a bloodhound mix,” Helen answered, patted her hellhound on the neck.

Sirius frowned. He had never heard of a “bloodhound” before. Maybe “bloodhound” was muggle for “hellhound.” As quickly as that thought came, Sirius dismissed it. There was no way muggles would act so calmly around this “bloodhound.”

“The vet isn't sure what else he is,” Helen continued to explain with a shrug. “There was no chip and no one reported a bloodhound mix puppy missing.”

Why on earth would Petunia Evans allow her niece to have a dog? Last Sirius knew, Petunia hated Lily, and he assumed those feelings transferred to Helen.

That actually why Sirius came by. He wanted to check on Helen. While he was proven innocent, he didn't want to take any chances. Just a few weeks ago Sirius was the most wanted man in the United Kingdom. He felt there was no need to risk his safety or the safety of those around him.

Now that he was innocent, Sirius was interested in getting to know Helen and he wanted to build a relationship with her. When he mentioned living together back in June, she wasn't interested. Sirius had assumed she had no interest in living with a stranger, but maybe there was more than that. It seemed as though Helen and her aunt had a good relationship.

“When's your aunt getting home?” Sirius asked.

Helen glanced at the clock above the fireplace. “In about two hours,” she answered.

Sirius nodded. He needed to talk to Petunia. He needed information on what a “bloodhound” was and he needed to tell her what a hellhound was. Also, he needed to check Helen and her Orion for a familiar bond. A familiar bond could explain Orion's good behavior.

 

**...**

 

The next two hours passed. Sirius spent the time watching Helen. She had Lily's mannerisms and grace. Helen moved like Lily, especially when she had a happy skip in her step. During the time, Helen started to prepare dinner, a roast with potatoes and carrots. Sirius alternated between watching her and telling her things about her parents, mostly James.

There were moments when Helen smiled with her head tilled to the right, and Sirius was reminded of Lily during his Hogwarts days. He commented on Helen's resemble to Lily several times.

“It's nice to hear,” Helen said while peeling the carrots. “Everyone's always comparing me to dad. I know I look Grandma Dorea with mom's eyes and dad's messy hair.”

Personally, Sirius didn't see a lot of Dorea in Helen. Dorea Potter had naturally tan skin and an hourglass figure with brown hair and hazel eyes. Helen had tan skin from the sun and a lean build with long dark hair and green eyes. Sirius could see Dorea's cheekbones and ears on Helen, but that was about it.

A little passed five, Petunia Evans was walking through the front door. Orion poked his head out of the dining room before walking back to the doorway leading to the kitchen. He resumed his previous position of laying in the doorway, his eyes tracking Helen's movements.

Petunia called a greeting to her niece before heading upstairs, her heels clicking on the steps. Several minutes later, Petunia Evans entered the kitchen to find her niece cooking dinner and Sirius seated at the table with a cup of tea.

“Mister Black,” Petunia greeted, an enough in her tone, as she poured herself a cup of tea.

“Petunia,” Sirius replied. He had met Petunia on five occasions: on the Platform after fifth year, at graduation, at Lily and James' engagement party, a brief visit to Lily and James' apartment, and three months after Helen's birth.

Petunia added a lemon to her tea before taking a sip. She walked over and sat across the table from Sirius. Picking up the neatly stacked mail, Petunia thumbed through it. She sat a few things aside and discarded most of the pile.

Relative silence filled the kitchen. Petunia sipped her tea while reading the mail and Sirius alternated between watching his goddaughter, Orion, and Petunia. Helen was busy checking the roast and getting dishes for dinner down. Dinner was ready about thirty minutes later. Petunia and Helen cleared the kitchen table and sat it for three people. After taking their seats, Orion walked over and laid himself next to Helen.

The meal started off a little tense. Neither Sirius nor Petunia were looking at one another.

“How's your summer going?” Sirius asked in effort to fill the tense silence.

Helen shrugged. “Pretty good,” she answered. “I've been busy with Orion and keeping in touch with Padma.”

Sirius nodded. He remember Padma Patil. She was Helen's best friend. He didn't know much of the story behind their friendship though. “How'd you become friends?” he asked.

“We met on the train,” Helen replied. “Padma and Parvati joined me and Lavender.”

From what Remus and the other Hogwarts professors told him, Sirus knew Helen was close with Lavender Brown and the Patil twins. Padma was the top student in their year with her twin, Lavender, and Helen following in the top fifteen.

“How are your grades?” Sirius asked.

That question caught Petunia's interest.

“I got my final grades a few days ago,” Helen said. “All E's and O's.”

Petunia nodded with a fond smile, “Just like your mom.”

“Your mom was the smartest witch of our generation,” Sirius said.

“Really?” Helen asked. “No one's told me that.”

Sirius nodded. “She was the top student in our year and she scored straight O's on her OWLs and NEWTs. I think she broke a Ministry record or something.”

“I never knew that,” Petunia whispered with a pained look on her face. She regreted the falling out she had with Lily. They had just started to mend their relationship when Lily and James were forced into hiding, which limited the contact between the sisters.

A smile broke on Sirius' face. “Yeah, it caused a _huge_ stink at the Ministry,” he said. “Most of the old farts were blood purists and a muggle-born witch out scored _all_ the pure-bloods in her year and in the past.”

The smile returned to Petunia's face. “Sounds like my sister,” she declared.

Silence resumed. Unlike the previous silence, this one was calmed and there was no tension. The three finished dinner with Helen feeding Orion bits off of her plate.

After dinner, Petunia assisted Helen in cleaning the dishes before loading the dishwasher. Helen ran upstairs to work on her homework for two hours with Orion following on her heels. Petunia and Sirius moved to the living room, where Petunia brought out a bottle of whiskey.

“Are you taking Helen away from me?” Petunia asked as she poured two glasses of whiskey.

Sirius was silent. Did he want to take Helen? Yes, he wanted his goddaughter. But he could tell she was happy and loved here. He wasn't about to break up a family.

“No,” Sirius answered. “She's happy and she doesn't want to leave.”

A look of relief passed over Petunia's face. “She's all I have left,” she whispered.

Sirius understood that. Helen was all that was left of the Potters and Sirius' best friend, but she was also all Petunia had left her family. Her parents died in a car accident a year after Lily's graduation. He remembered Petunia was engaged to a large muggle at Lily and James' graduation party, and the relationship had not ended well. When Petunia discovered she was pregnant, the muggle lost it and beat the _bastard_ out of her.

He remembered seeing her on his brief visit to Lily and James' apartment all those years ago. Petunia's face was black and blue, she had a broken arm, and she moved in pain. Sirius only knew what happened because James pulled him aside and explained the situation, and asked Sirius to stay away for a few days so Lily and Petunia could have space to get to know one another.

“I do want to get to know her,” Sirius told Petunia. “She's all I could think about,” his voice trailed off as thoughts of Azkaban filled Sirius' mind.

“That's good,” Petunia said with a weak smile. “She needs someone to tell her about James.”

Sirius returned the weak smile.

Silence descended on the pair, again. Both were busy thinking. Petunia was thinking about her sister and her niece while Sirius was trying to decide how to bring up Orion the hellhound.

“Did Lily ever tell you about magical creatures?” Sirius asked.

“Not really,” Petunia replied. “I never paid attention when I was younger, and later we both trying to get to reconnect.”

Sirius sighed. “Orion is a magical creature,” he declared. He was hoping to easy into this, but he couldn't think of a way.

Petunia frowned. “The vet said he was a bloodhound mix,” she said.

“He's a hellhound,” Sirius explained. “It's his eyes, his ears, and his intelligence.”

With her lips pressed together, Petunia asked, “Is he dangerous?”

“Not to Helen,” Sirius answered, “but to anyone wanting to harm her.”

Petunia perked up a little. “Then he'll stay,” she declared. “I need to know she'll be safe at school.”

Sirius frowned. He hadn't thought of that. From what he understood, Helen was close to being a danger-magnet and Orion would help keep her safe.

“He'll need to be licensed,” Sirius muttered.

 

**...**

 

The rest of Helen's summer passed quickly. She spent it divided between her aunt and her godfather. On the weekdays, Helen spent time with Sirius, and she was home in time for dinner with her aunt. Sirius ended up purchasing a house a few blocks away, so he was close to her.

Sirius told Helen about Orion, and he got the hellhound licensed so the dog could follow her to school in September. Since they were bonded, there was nothing the Board of Governors could do. As a familiar, Orion had a legal right to follow his owner to school. In event he attacked someone, the incident would be reviewed and Helen would most likely be fined if Orion attacked for no reason. Since he was a bonded hellhound, he would most likely attack if his owner was threatened – physically, magically, or mentally attacked.

 

**...**

 

On the fifteenth of August, Petunia and Sirius took Helen and Orion to Diagon Alley for her school supplies. Helen met up with friends and showed off her seven month old puppy. Orion was met with cues and pets by her friends.

The longest part of the day was spent at Twilfitt and Tatting's, where the four teenagers took _forever_ trying on and picking out their dress robes. It wasn't all bad since Sirius got to see his goddaughter smile and laugh with her friends. The only reason they went to Twilfitt and Tatting's over Madam Malkin's was because Sirius was paying for the girls' dress robes. He had a large settlement from the Ministry to spend, and he wanted to spoil his goddaughter.

After discussing it with Petunia, Sirius decided buying Helen's and her friends' dress robes was a good start. The four girls were best friends. While Helen had the money to buy nice dress robes, her friends didn't. Padma and Parvati were at Hogwarts on a partial scholarship and Lavender's mother was disinherited and working as a Ministry secretary. The other girls' parents originally turned down the offer, but they around after learning about the Yule Ball. With Sirius purchasing the dress robes, the Patils and Miss Brown could spend that money on something extra, like shoes or jewelry to make the night even better.

In the end, the girls all had beautiful dress robes. Lavender's dress robes were one-shouldered in mauve with silver and sequins. Padma's dress robes were bustier-style in a yellow-orange with rhinestones and Parvati's were a simple dark pink with thin straps and a fitted waist. Helen's dress robes were bustier-style in mint green with sequins around the bust and waist with flowing fabric.

The second longest stop of the day was Flourish and Blotts where Padma and Helen spent their time going through the numerous books while Parvati and Lavender picked up catalogues with the latest fashions.

The day ended with ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. The girls made plans to meet up on the Express and owl each other over the next few weeks.

 

**...**

 

Before anyone knew it, the first of September came. Sirius and Petunia saw Helen and Orion off for the new school year. After loading her truck and a claiming a compartment, Helen spent some extra time with her aunt and her godfather before the Hogwarts Express was scheduled to depart.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Type: Oneshot  
> Prompt: Hellhound


End file.
